How can less than 16 minutes of music across 10 tracks make such a seismic shift in the underground? 19-year-old English rapper Feng doesn’t have an answer when reflecting on his debut project What The Feng.

“I haven’t even started my career yet,” the grungy, self-aware musician says casually. He’s fresh off the heels of What The Feng, his tightly-packed debut sprouting from the bustling UK underground scene teeming with drill and trap offshoots.

Often sporting vibrant tie-dye tees, Feng carries that same unfiltered, expressive energy into his sound. Focus is Feng’s greatest asset, with a psyche untouched by trends. Even amid sold-out shows, widespread acclaim from The FADER, Pitchfork, INTERVIEW, DAZED, and more, plus an upcoming Rolling Loud debut, Feng — the “accentuated” version of his real name, Travas Feneley — is being conceptualized in real time.

It all started with BandLab, Generation Z’s answer to the video game-esque Fruity Loops or the actual video game Music 2000, which helped create the sound of UK grime in the early ‘00s. Feng’s tinkering between breaks turned into actualized songs, albeit all a minute or less long. Self-taught, Feng writes, mixes, and engineers his own music, often producing it himself, and brings that same hands-on approach to the visuals he directs.

The whirlwind of sudden acclaim and underground buzz — all while Feng hasn’t even hit adulthood yet, let alone a year into making music — inspired his debut album, Weekend Rockstar, released through his own label Regularisperfect. Regularisperfect is a homegrown, grassroots creative collective co-founded by Feng and his friend Stan Smith, centered around making music together. Though creator-driven at its core, the collective has quickly reached listeners around the world.

Experiencing the dullness of the work week contrasted with dizzying, technicolored weekends filled with performances, parties, and excess, Feng began conceptualizing an album that captured the terror-tinged excitement of his dreams becoming a full-time job. Thus, Weekend Rockstar was born.

Across Weekend Rockstar is a sense of blissful nostalgia and earnest songwriting, as Feng captures hazy snapshots of a life in flux — falling in and out of love, navigating rapid change, and holding onto optimism amid upheaval. Unlike most modern releases, Weekend Rockstar leans on a tight circle of producers — spearheaded by Bilal Hamdi, and Feng himself — favoring cohesion over mass saturation.

What sets apart Feng isn’t just his unconventional rise, but his message. In a scene that prioritizes and promotes vanity, there is a selflessness and uplifting nature felt in the alternative rapper’s music. It’s optimism and positivity without the preachiness, partially forged in Feng’s beliefs that guide his artistry. “I kind of sit in the middle of the fence,” he explains, trying to find the words to describe something so innate.

Weekend Rockstar includes the 2026 kickoff single “Cali Crazy,” an unfiltered snapshot of a teenage rockstar moving to LA to chase his dreams, blurring fantasy and reality. After “Cali Crazy” dropped Feng was championed as an artist to watch by COMPLEX, Pigeons & Planes, OnesToWatch, The FADER, and more publications. Other standouts include “J*b,” a self-produced anthem railing against the 9–5 grind, and “Firework,” a smooth, upbeat party starter. More introspective moments like “Dopest Girl” and “Don’t Be Normal” capture Feng’s rebellious, teenage angst.

Taking the bright, bubblegum Y2K nostalgia mixed with jerk, cloud rap and drill influences that made What The Feng’s 16-minute runtime feel so efficient, Weekend Rockstar is also a spot-on homage to blog haus darlings like MGMT, early ASAP Mob, Santigold and Foster the People. “YOLO,” he says with a conviction unheard of since Drake released “The Motto” in 2011. Feng takes the scrappy, DIY ethos of his obvious inspirations into 2026, proudly fawning over his “shitty mic” that went from a necessary tool to an integral part of a sound that bridges genres.

“I’m kind of like a…maniac,” Feng says, realizing his burgeoning career is out of the ordinary – built from a rudimentary audio interface that rewards the naive, the carefree, the hungry. Weekend Rockstar wrestles with the inevitable shift toward stardom — from front-row seats at elite fashion shows to rapid success and global attention — while holding onto Feng’s instinct to stay authentic and grounded in his Croydon roots.